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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422010">All is fair in love and sports</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me'>hopelessly_me</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mandatory Fun Day <3 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Clint is trying, Confident Clint, Confused Bucky, Embarassed boys, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Revenge Kiss, Soulmates, clint in short shorts, conflicted Bucky, sad bucky, soccer match, soulmark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 17:20:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,830</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers host a charity soccer match to raise money for disaster relief efforts. After being told Clint would not be attending, Bucky reluctantly agreed to participate. Tony had other ideas.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mandatory Fun Day <3 [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1580872</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>126</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Mandatory Fun Day</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>All is fair in love and sports</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You have got to be kidding me,” Bucky muttered as he tossed his bag down behind the bench. “Why does this feel… like a trap?” he asked, looking over at Steve, who looked equally perplexed. “I thought you said they were out of town.”</p><p>“They <em> were </em>,” Steve insisted. “Tony is playing dirty.”</p><p>“Hey Bucky! Hey Steve!” Clint called over cheerfully, waving. </p><p>His right arm was wrapped in various colored tape, from his wrist and threatening to touch his elbow. He had a strip of purple across his nose, a bruise barely hidden underneath it. His hair was in a state of chaos and Bucky was <em> weak </em> . <em> Goddamn it Stark, this isn’t fair. </em> </p><p>Clint and Bucky hadn't had much time to talk about… well, them, since Bucky came to the Tower and both of them felt the searing heat of their soulmarks filling in with color. It wasn’t like Bucky didn’t want to talk to Clint about it, he just didn’t know <em> how </em>. How the hell was Clint, this ray of sunshine and chaotic energy, supposed to deal with everything Bucky? It wasn’t fair to the guy. It wouldn’t have been fair to anyone, Bucky was such a mess.</p><p>“Maybe we should tell Tony that you need to-” Steve began to say.</p><p>“Tell Tony what?” Tony asked, walking over. Bucky’s eyes flickered over to the uniform Tony was wearing and he felt his head start to buzz. If Tony was wearing <em> that </em> , that meant <em> Clint </em> was going to be in that and-</p><p>“Why the hell are you wearing short shorts for this?” Steve asked, sounding exasperated.</p><p>“Gotta please to crowd of people who are going to be donating what is hopefully a lot of money to disaster relief efforts,” Tony replied with a smirk. “And our team is known to be a little… looser than yours. You, Cap, have an image to uphold. My team? Not quite as much.”</p><p>Steve looked like he was halfway between wanting to slug Tony and to gently pull him off to the side to explain how inappropriate this was. Bucky looked across the pitch to Natasha and Clint, both of them laughing. Clint pulled his shirt off first and Bucky was pretty sure he wasn’t going to breathe for the next sixty-plus minutes of his life. His tank top had a tight fit to it, leaving nothing to the imagination. Bucky wasn’t familiar with soulmarks anymore, he hadn’t had time to explore them since leaving HYDRA, but he was pretty sure Clint hand was itching his mark due to Bucky’s over reaction. And when Clint took his sweats off, wearing the same style shorts as Tony, Clint sent a surprised look at Bucky because there was a sudden rush of arousal that even took Bucky by surprise. Clint’s smiled sheepishly, waving before he jogged to catch up to Natasha so they could stretch. And that was when Bucky was finally smart enough to look away.</p><p>“I am going to <em> die, </em> ” Bucky warned Steve. “I can’t- he can <em> feel </em> everything.”</p><p>Steve was watching what Bucky thought was Natasha, there was no way for him to look without spotting Clint, so he kept his eyes firmly on Steve. He wondered how Natasha and Steve did it, being soulmates. Or Tony and Pepper for the matter. How could anyone feel so comfortable with someone else this intimately? “It gets easier- you both just haven’t had the… chance to work everything out yet.”</p><p>Bucky consciously was rubbing his wrist where the three tiny arrow tattoos had burst into life just three months ago. He hesitantly looked at Clint, who was rubbing the back of his neck where a red star was, lines of grey woven in to represent Bucky’s arm. Everything felt too raw still, at least to Bucky, and he wondered how Clint felt about the whole thing. He seemed to be taking it in stride but was he really-</p><p>“Just sixty minutes,” Steve said, pulling Bucky to attention. “We do this charity event, and we can leave. Then you can… you can decide what to do after that.”</p><p>Bucky nodded. He couldn’t keep hiding from this- at some point it was going to turn sour if he didn't at least talk to Clint. Clint would take offense to it, and that wasn’t something Bucky was willing to risk. Clint was too nice for this evasiveness, he deserved better. So after the game, Bucky was going to have to approach him, work this out.</p><p>As soon as the game started, Bucky could at least throw himself into the match. Steve and himself had an edge, they had more endurance for long-term running that the rest of the members of either team. The problem was, that didn’t stop Clint, who kept charging him and Bucky backed down every time, much to the disdain of Sam, who yelled “c’mon man” every time. But what the hell was Bucky supposed to do? Engage and hurt Clint? What if he tripped over Bucky’s foot and landed wrong? What if he snapped an ankle? It was <em> maddening </em>.</p><p>“He is using your emotions to his advantage, Barnes,” Sam scolded him. “He knows you aren’t going to touch him. His whole <em> team </em> knows that. You gotta start… I don’t know, stop being such a sucker and get your shit together.”</p><p>“Fuck off, Sam,” Bucky growled, not that it scared Sam any.</p><p>They were allowed a twenty minute break- catch their breath and rehydrate. Steve and Bucky both could have kept going, but the rest of the team weren’t as durable. Bucky looked up and caught Clint again and he melted. He was in a group of kids, doing handstands and cartwheels, gingerly avoiding putting pressure on his taped arm. He looked radiant and involved, cheering on the kids around him.</p><p>“Oh for fucks sake,” Bucky grumbled before he walked across the pitch, despite Steve’s shouts. “Barton!”</p><p>Clint looked over and jogged to meet him halfway. “Hey Barnes,” he greeted.</p><p>“You are… using this whole situation against me in this game, aren’t you?” Bucky asked.</p><p>Clint’s eyes went wide before he bit his lip, his shoulders pulling up slightly. “Maybe? Slightly? Yes?”</p><p>“Asshole.”</p><p>“I’m <em> sorry </em>,” Clint groaned. “I know it’s not nice or fair to you but-”</p><p>Bucky kissed him, took his by surprise. He felt his mark heating up under the action, something warm settling in his chest. He ran his fingers along Clint’s jawline before he pulled away. Clint looked dazed, love drunk off the action, and it was a look Bucky wanted to get used to seeing.</p><p>“All is fair in love and war,” Bucky told him in a low tone, huskier than he had intended, and Clint actually whimpered. “See back out on the pitch.” He turned and walked back to his group.</p><p>“What… was that?” Sam asked.</p><p>“Leveling the playing field a little,” Bucky answered.</p><p>The match began again soon after that. Clint still looked a little dazed, a little off balance, which was exactly what Bucky wanted. Bucky charged down the field and Clint went after him, going for the ball. Bucky thought as hard as he could about that kiss and Clint stumbled before he fell, tumbling. Bucky avoided one disaster and actually made a goal. He looked back and Clint was sitting on the pitch, his face all sorts of red as he watched Bucky with wide eyes. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a fair fight, but Clint had started that war. And Bucky wanted his team to win.</p><p>Clint actively avoided Bucky through the rest of the match, weaving away, trying to get the ball to someone else before Bucky could try to flood his sensors into overdrive again. Bucky tried to keep up with the adjustments, but he was out of practice and had no idea why, or how, Clint became good at soccer. It was frustrating but breathtaking to watch. He was fearless, jumping in for headers, sliding for the ball, not worried about getting messy. More than once he took Steve down, which was honestly the best thing Bucky had ever seen. </p><p>Losing to Tony’s team was terrible. Tony was so <em> loud </em> about it, so gloaty, and it was rubbing Bucky the wrong way. <em> He is cocky for a man who literally didn’t score a single goal </em> he thought. But the charity event was an overwhelming success, and there was talk of another event like this one.</p><p>“Golf.”</p><p>“Awww, golf. No,” Clint whined shamelessly, opening a cooler and pulling a beer out. “I hate golf. It’s so <em> easy </em>.”</p><p>“We’ll blindfold you,” Tony offered.</p><p>“That is literally the only way you all won’t get your asses handed to you,” Clint bragged. At least Clint bragging made sense. He scored three of their team’s six goals and Bucky was willing to beat he missed the one goal just to keep the game close, because Clint- he doesn’t miss. However, his three goals <em> were </em> in the first half, and his missed goal was in the second, so Bucky planned on taking credit for that.</p><p>“Can we just order food already?” Sam asked. “And the next sport we play is going to be football, and the supersoldiers are breaking up for it.”</p><p>Bucky smiled as he watched the Avengers all talking loudly, having a good time. He almost, <em> almost </em> didn’t notice when Clint had made his way over, holding out a bottle to Bucky. Bucky felt his heart pick up pace but he took the bottle anyway.</p><p>“Clever,” Clint commented, leaning against the wall next to Bucky. “For a guy who just found out about soulmarks and everything, you really learned to lay those feelings on <em> thick </em>.”</p><p>“I’d apologize but you started it,” Bucky replied. He glanced at Clint, the way he left just enough space between them to not touch Bucky. “How much… of me can you feel?”</p><p>“Probably more than you’d be comfortable with?” Clint answered. Bucky sighed and hung his head, playing with the label of the bottle. “I have a proposal to make,” Clint said and Bucky barely lifted his head to look at him. “Until you are more comfortable with all of this, why don’t we try to get to know each other through physical activities.”</p><p>“I’m not having sex with you,” Bucky blurted out. Clint sucked in a sharp breath and edged himself away from Bucky a half step. “I mean-”</p><p>“No, no, it’s alright, I get it,” Clint said. “I meant sports. Sparring. Weight lifting. Tennis. Soccer. Things like that. We both seem competitive enough where we tried to use the marks to throw the other off. Maybe we can kinda… ease into this?”</p><p>Bucky wasn’t sure who’s emotions he was feeling his own or Clint’s. It was a nervous energy, but hopeful. “You deserve better than me.”</p><p>Clint leaned forward a little with a sly smile. “Oh Barnes, I cannot wait to prove you wrong there.” He tapped his bottle against Bucky’s. “You have <em> no </em> idea what you are in for.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This counts, right? There is sports, talk of more sports in the future... so that counts. =) That's my story and I am sticking to it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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